Detecting Wasted Food Items and Weights using Computer Vision

Challenge Completed!

A global team of 50 collaborators worked in this AI Innovation Challenge to develop a dataset and train a computer vision algorithm to recognize food items and predict their weight. Dublin based foodtech startup Positive Carbon will use the computer vision model to augment their automated food waste monitoring system to help hotels and food businesses cut their food waste.

The problem

One-third of all food produced globally is wasted. Contributing to 10% of all greenhouse gases. Reducing food waste is the single greatest action we can take to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

By giving kitchens full visibility of their food waste, we allow them to see what they’re wasting and how to make changes to their preparation, production, and purchasing habits to reduce it. This will allow companies that serve food to drastically reduce the impact they have on the planet.

The project outcomes

The AI modeling involved utilizing a set of data to train a computer vision algorithm to recognize the food items and predict their weight.